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If your question is not answered below or you have a problem using DrinkControl app,
please send an email from the DrinkControl app using [Send email] option in the About tab (e-mail will contain diagnostic information
that will help us identify problems and assist you). You may also e-mail us directly at support@drinkcontrolapp.com.

Changelog

To learn about improvements, changes and fixes on the latest app update, check out the DrinkControl changelog.

There is no single definition of moderate drinking. What one person considers moderate,
another person may view it as heavy drinking. That said, moderate or "safe" or low-risk drinking might be defined as one that
does not generally causes problems, neither to the drinkers themselves nor society.

Some groups of people should not consume alcohol at all or should limit its use to less than the
amounts suggested by guidelines. These groups are:
 Pregnant women or those trying to conceive;
 Drivers or those engaged in other activities that require alertness and dexterity (such as driving a car or heavy machinery);
 People taking certain over-the-counter or prescription medications;
 People with pre-existing medical conditions that are negatively affected by drinking;
 Recovering alcoholics;
 People younger than the age of 18-21 (depending on country-specific regulations).

What Is an alcohol unit? How is it related to a standard drink?

Countries calculate alcohol intake in 'units' or 'standard drinks' when advising on quantities of alcohol intake.
Official standard drinks or units generally contain between 8 and 14 grams of pure ethanol, although the
measures vary among countries.

There is no international consensus on a single standard drink size. For example, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services define moderate drinking as up to two
drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women.
In the UK, the guidelines issued in 1995 by the Department of Health (DH) recommend a maximum daily alcohol
intake of three to four units for men and two to three units for women. Any occasion in which a person drinks more than
the daily-recommended limit should be followed by 48 alcohol-free hours.
It should be noted that other countries have their own definitions of standard drink/unit and safe or "low-risk" limits.

The standard drink is used in many countries to quantify alcohol intake and means a notional drink that
contains a specified amount of pure alcohol. One standard drink always contains the same amount of alcohol
regardless of container size or type of alcoholic beverage and is commonly restated as a measure of beer,
wine or spirits. The effects of the various kinds of alcoholic beverages are evaluated based on the amount of
pure alcohol contained in them and the size of a standard drink. For example, in the United States
a standard drink is 14g / 18 milliliters / 0.6 fluid ounces of pure alcohol but in Australia, Ireland, Italy,
Poland and Spain a standard drink is 10g / 12.7 milliliters of alcohol.

In the United Kingdom, units of alcohol are used to express guidelines for the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
The strength of an alcoholic drink is indicated by the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV). A unit
corresponds to approximately 8 g (or 10 milliliters) of pure alcohol, regardless of the amount of liquid in which
it is diluted. For instance, half a pint of beer (ABV 3.5%) or a small glass of wine (ABV 12−14%)
is the equivalent of one unit.

What is binge drinking?

Binge drinking is the modern definition of drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of
becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period.

Currently there is no world wide consensus on how many drinks constitute a "binge". However,
in the United States, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a
pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above.
This typically happens when a woman has had four or more drinks or a man has had five or more consecutive drinks
within a couple of hours.

Calories in alcohol

One gram of ethyl alcohol yields seven Calories
(kcal - dietary/nutritional calories) of energy
when metabolized by the body. The total calorie content of an alcoholic beverage includes the calories from the alcohol
itself and calories from the other components of the beverage (residual sugars or grains in beers and wines, for example).

DrinkControl shows you the amount of alcohol calories contained in drinks but does not provide information on
calories from other components, as each individual drink may contain varied and/or added ingredients (for instance wines with the same alcohol
volume may contain different measures of residual sugars). Estimating the levels of calories is especially hard in cocktails, as
these can include number of other ingredients (at times very rich on calories). Therefore, the total amount of calories you
have consumed with your drinks is probably higher than shown on the calories chart (unless you consume only spirits).

If you know the exact amount of calories for your favorite drinks you can adjust this value in the [Customize drinks] option in the Settings tab for
better accuracy in the consumed calories statistics chart.

In the USA moderate alcohol consumption recommendations are elaborated by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015"
the standard drink is 14g (0.6 fl oz). For most adults, moderate alcohol use should not exceed more
than up to two standard drinks per day for men and one drink per day for
women and seniors. One drink equals a 12-ounce bottle of beer (5% alcohol),
a 5-ounce glass of wine (12% alcohol) or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits (40% alcohol).

Excessive drinking is considered consumption of four or more drinks per day
or eight or more drinks per week for women and five or more drinks per day or 15 or more drinks per week for men.
Binge drinking is the consumption within approximately two hours of four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men.

UK Recommendations Summary

In the United Kingdom moderate alcohol consumption recommendations are elaborated by the Department of Health (DH).
In 2016, the DH published its latest "UK Chief Medical Officers’ Alcohol Guidelines".
The new guidelines do not set daily drinking limits and recommends both men and women not to drink more than 14 units per week on a regular basis.
If one does drink as much as 14 units per week, it is best to spread this evenly over three days or more.

A previously published guideline named
"NHS Choices. Drinking and alcohol, 2011" stated that
men should not regularly drink more than three to four units of alcohol per day and in any case no
more than 21 units per week. Women should not regularly drink more than two to three units of
alcohol per day and no more than 14 units per week. Individuals should also take a break for 48 hours after a
heavy session to let their bodies recover. Pregnant women or women trying to conceive should avoid
alcohol altogether. Nor is it recommended to practice binge drinking (saving up units for the
weekend and consuming more than twice the maximum recommended daily intake of alcohol).

A standard drink in Canada is 13.6grams (0.5oz) and defined as 12 fl. oz of beer; 5 fl. oz of wine;
or 1.5 fl. oz of spirits. As a general guideline, women should not drink more than two standard drinks per day and men
should not drink more than three standard drinks per day. Men should not exceed 15 drinks per week and
women no more than 10 drinks per week. Non-drinking days every week should be planned to avoid
developing a habit. On single occasions, it is recommended drinking no more than three drinks for women and four drinks for men.

Germany Recommendations Summary

In Germany moderate alcohol consumption recommendations are elaborated by the
Federal Ministry of Health of Germany (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung or BzGA).

According to Germany's responsible drinking guidelines for low-risk consumption, a
standard drink is 10g of alcohol. Men should not exceed two standard drinks per day while women should not exceed one standard drink per day. BZgA also
recommends at least two days of abstinence from alcohol per week. Excessive drinking is considered four or more drinks per day for women and five or more
drinks per day for men.

The World Health Organization Recommendations Summary

The World Health Organization (WHO) was established in 1948 as the specialized agency of the
United Nations responsible for directing and coordinating international health matters
and public health. For countries where there are no official government guidelines, such as
Belgium, China, Germany, Hungary, India, Russia and many others, the
World Health Organisation recommends low-risk responsible drinking guidelines to be followed.
Alcohol consumption guidelines are described in the publication
"Self-help strategies for cutting down or stopping substance use, 2011".

According to guidelines a standard drink is 10g (a 330 ml beer can at 4% alcohol or a 100 ml glass of wine at 12% alcohol).
Low risk consumption is up to two drinks per day and at least two days of abstinence within the week (no more than 10 drinks per week).

Previous WHO guidelines recommended not exceeding four drinks on any single occasion and stated low risk limits for
weekly alcohol consumption of up to 21 drinks for men and up to 14 units for women.

Using DrinkControl On iPhone

What do the colors in Today screen mean?

The Today tab of DrinkControl shows three status bars of your alcohol consumption - today, last seven days, and
last 30 days. Instead of a calendar week/month DrinkControl uses the last 7/30 days as rolling time period (which includes today as well)
to provide you with more accurate and consistent tracking of alcohol use within defined limits, as well as actively encouraging
you to "take a day off” (taking a drink today will affect all your reporting periods, there are no "reset" or "clean slate"
every next Monday/month).

The status bar colors in the Today tab as well as colors of bars in the Stats-Units chart have distinct meanings.

Today bar (1d):

(blue) - you haven't consumed more alcohol than the average recommended alcohol units per day. (violet) - you have consumed more than the recommended daily units (but below binge drinking). (red) - you have reached the binge drinking level.

Last 7 days bar (7d):

(blue) - you are below the maximum recommended alcohol
units limit for the rolling week (last seven days, including today) and during the period you haven't surpassed the binge drinking
limit in any of the days. (violet) - you haven't consumed more than the weekly maximum recommended amount of alcohol
units within last seven days but you have surpassed the binge drinking level at least once within this time period. (red) - in the last seven days you've consumed more than the maximum recommended alcohol units per week.

Last 30 days bar (30d):

Most countries don't set a maximum recommended monthly alcohol limit.
DrinkControl defines the monthly limit by applying the weekly limit proportionally for a 30-day
period (four and a half weeks). (blue) - you haven't consumed more alcohol than the monthly limit during the last 30 days (rolling time period, includes today). (red) - you've been drinking above the monthly limit in the last 30 days.

I registered a drink this morning but app shows I drunk it yesterday!

DrinkControl accounts all drinks consumed until 7:00am of the previous day
and will automatically register as such when you input drinks early in the morning.

Let's say you go out on Saturday evening and stay at club/bar until early hours of the following day.
All the drinks you enter after midnight will count towards Saturday - not Sunday -
unless you keep going past 7:00am when the drinks start registering on Sunday. This
approach describes your drinking patterns more precisely, as it details your
alcohol consumption in an undivided extent of time.

Can I set my own drinking limits?

Unfortunately, not at the moment. You can select among limits from different health organizations in
[Settings].

Can I enter price in different currency?

Not yet. DrinkControl uses the currency settings from your phone's default regional settings.
You can calculate the price manually (with the help of calculator keyboard in the app) and enter the price in your default currency.
It's also possible to leave the price field empty if not relevant to you.

How do I edit yesterday's drinks?

Tap the [Calendar] tab, select a date and tap the corresponding drink on that day.

Why have the limits suddenly changed (version 4.9)?

If you opened DrinkControl and noticed unexpected changes in the drinking limits - it's not a bug and there's nothing wrong with your phone or app.
There are some very important updates in the version 4.9 that you might have missed if your phone is set to update apps automatically.

From time to time, organizations responsible for health policy update their recommendations for moderate/low-risk alcohol
consumption or publish new guidelines. In DrinkControl version 4.9 we have updated those limits to match
the latest recommendations:

- Reduced UK weekly limits for men from the the latest "UK Chief Medical Officers’ Alcohol Guidelines" effective from January 1st,
2016 (daily limits kept from previous guidelines as new guidelines do not specify a daily limit).

Another important update in the app version 4.9 is more accurate reporting for daily, weekly and monthly consumption - reaching the moderate drinking limit
(for example when 2.0 units are consumed on a two units limit) doesn't mean that you have stepped over the moderate drinking line. This does not apply
to binge limit reporting as all guidelines clearly state that reaching the limit for binge/excessive drinking means you have already
crossed the limit line.

Can I set my own background image for Today tab?

Go to the app [Settings] tab and select [Home screen style]. Choose option [Custom background] - afterward long tap
(tap and hold for a moment) the background in the [Today] tab until the [Change background] button
appears.

How to add a drink in the Calendar?

Select the date in Calendar tab and tap [Add Drink] button.
Tapping an existing drink in the Calendar will open it in editing mode.

The selection list for drinks is too long/in the wrong order. Can I change it?

Yes, you can. Go to Settings tab and select [Customize Your Drinks] option (available with DrinkControl paid features enabled).
Hide drinks you don't like with [On|Off] switches. Tap [Edit] to reorder the list according to your preferences.

What type of drinks can I choose from?

We have included the most popular drinks. If you can't find a drink of your choice you can add
your own drink in the Settings tab by selecting [Customize Your Drinks] drinks and pressing [Add new drink] (available with DrinkControl paid features enabled).
Enter the name of the drink, select the most appropriate icon and its default alcohol volume/serving size and calories per serving.

Can I use metric or imperial units for volume?

The use of metric or imperial units is currently linked to the moderate drinking limits you have selected in Settings tab [Recommendations] option.
Recommendations for the USA and Canada are displayed in imperial units. All other recommendations are shown in metric units.

How do I enter the price for multiple drinks?

Tap to fill in the price of your drink. If you paid for several drinks (the count picker allows you to opt for more than one)
enter the price of only a single drink, as the total price will be calculated automatically. After some use, DrinkControl
will be able to suggest the price for the currently selected serving size from your previous records.
You can fill price field with suggested price with a single tap.

How do I delete a drink?

In the Calendar tab, select a date and tap the [Edit] button in the navigation bar.
Alternatively, you can swipe the drink from right to left to reveal [Delete] button.

Can I save or share my stats?

Yes. You can save/share your stats using [Share] button in the Stats tab.
For example, you can email stats to yourself or save them in Notes and other apps.

Please think carefully before sharing your stats or making them visible to everyone.
While your drinking stats might be fun for your friends or helpful for your support group/doctor,
they should not be available for your current/future employer and other third parties.
Making your stats accessible to everyone is probably a terrible idea.
Think very carefully before sharing anything from DrinkControl publicly.

How do I restore my purchase (made on an old/other device)?

If you have already purchased premium features on a previous or different device and are using
the same iTunes Store account, you can restore your previous purchases.

Make sure you are logged into the App Store with the same account used
to download the app and to purchase features within the app - check the iTunes & App Store
section by launching Settings.app on your iPhone.

Then launch DrinkControl, open Settings tab and use the [Restore] button in Upgrade screen.
This will restore all in-app purchases you have made before.

In case the restore process doesn't work, it may be because the the previous
purchase was not fully completed – it might happen due to App Store errors unexpected interruptions on your Internet connection.
In this case, it is safe to use the [Buy] button - you will not be charged
twice (when using the same iTunes account). After you confirm your purchase,
App Store will inform you if an in-app purchase has already been made.